Aug. 31, 2012

Unwinding the Cucumber Tendril Mystery

How a cucumber creates its curling tendril has puzzled scientists for centuries. Even Charles Darwin and Asa Gray were stumped. Now, with the help of time-lapse photography and prosthetic tendril fabricated in the lab, physicist Sharon Gerbode, biologist Joshua Puzey, and colleagues have figured out why tendrils twist, according to a new study in Science.